The truth in your eyes
by whitemiracle
Summary: Ikebukuro has always been known as a city of mysterious happenings. For example, you wouldn't expect shady people bumping into you while you're on your way home, making you end up with someone you would've liked to avoid ever since you've been living in the city. But you need to drop the prejudices to reveal the truth about the personality of a broken man.


Sort of Shizuo x Reader story. I said _sort of_.

* * *

When you live in Ikebukuro for more than ten years now, you know that things will never be peaceful. I'm not saying that it is a district of crime and chaos, but still… you know, it is. So here's a piece of advice to everyone who likes to live a calm life: don't ever move to Ikebukuro.

I was on my way home from the non-stop two blocks from my flat, having banana milk in my left hand and a bag in my right, full of cereal boxes and vegetables. It was a 'quiet' summer night with a slight breeze blowing among the blocks of flats, people whispering about seeing The Black Rider nearby. I didn't listen to them for too long, I had seen The Black Rider several times around and while it used to be exciting in the first four years, now it was just one of the city's strange mysteries for me.

I didn't see him coming.

For some reason, fate decided to put me to the proof, or at least, my physical condition.

In a flash, something black and heavier than me landed on my chest, pushing me to the wall next to me, making me let out a small and faint moan as all the air got out of my lungs in 0.3 seconds. I hit my head into the wall and fell. The black, heavy thing stood up and looked down at me.

"I'm terribly sorry, miss", he said, with a slight smirk on his face. I knew who he was. Izaya Orihara, well-known info broker, hated and adored by loads of people in the city, aka Mr You-Better-Stay-Away-From-Me-If-You-Don't-Want-To- Get-In-Trouble. "May I help you?"

"I would appreciate it", I grumbled, glancing at the freshly bought carrots lying sadly next to a trash can.

Orihara reached out his right hand and I grabbed it. He pulled me up from the ground. And then, we heard it.

"IZAYAAA!"

The loud bellow came from the direction Orihara bumped in me from.

"Forgive me", said Orihara and with a flash of his silver knife he held in his left hand, he fled away.

And there he came. With a lamp post in his hand, electrical discharges flashing from its bottom. Shizuo Heiwajima stopped in front of me, gritting his teeth, panting.

"Have you seen him?" he barked at me.

"Leave me alone", I mumbled, picking up my boxes of strawberry-yogurt cereals from the ground.

"Have you or have you not seen him?!" he shouted.

"I told you to leave me alone!" I shouted back, straightening my back, pursing my lips.

I was honestly afraid of Shizuo Heiwajima. My hands were shaking and that lamp post was threatening, but I was also afraid of Izaya Orihara.

"So you didn't…" started Heiwajima on a lower tone, but I didn't let him finish his sentence:

"I just want you to let me go home without being involved in your business with Orihara, okay?"

I knew I sounded like a whiny coward. My voice was high-pitched, my legs were trembling, my shoulders curved forward, my eyes round from fear.

"You're afraid of me", he said, frowning. It wasn't a question; it was a fact that could clearly be seen even by him.

"Of course I am!" I spat at him. "I know who you are! And that lamp post is not improving my impression of you either!"

He stared at me for a few more minutes and I didn't dare to move. Then, he blinked a few and with one hand, he threw the lamp post over the concrete wall I was standing in front of. My eyes became watery from the loud sound it made on a car, of which the alarm went off immediately.

Heiwajima took a box of cigarette off the pocket of his bartender trousers, put one in his mouth and lit it. He inhaled the smoke and then stepped closer to me. I backed a step involuntarily.

"Let me carry your bag", he said.

"No, thank you, I'm fine."

I turned around and started off on the pavement.

"But it seems heavy", I heard his deep voice from behind my back.

"I'm strong enough to carry a bunch of carrots and two boxes of cereals", I said without facing him.

In the next moment, he caught the straps of the plastic bag and ripped it off my hand. The straps tore and the vegetables and cereals landed on the ground. Again.

I was furious. My anger was even bigger than my fear and I turned back.

Heiwajima was staring at the miserable goods. He seemed to be sorry, at least, that's what I saw in his eyes behind the blue lenses of his sunglasses under the street light.

"I'll pick them up and bring them home for you."

"You know what?" I asked tiredly. "Just leave them there. I'll go to the store tomorrow and by new ones."

"No, I will carry them to your house."

Shizuo Heiwajima crouched down and picked up the cabbage, carrots, cucumber and two boxes of strawberry-yogurt cereals from the ground. He held them in his arms, strangely resembling a father carrying his baby. He stood up and looked at me, waiting.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "The most badass guy in the city carrying vegetables for a stranger?"

I couldn't help smiling. Heiwajima's already grumpy expression grew even more fractious.

"Shut up and let's go", he grumbled.

So this is how it happened that I walked home at 9 pm with the most feared man in Ikebukuro carrying a bunch of vegetables for me. We didn't talk at all and the silence was too thick between us. The whole situation was awkward. And a bit scary for me.

I took my keys off the pocket of my shorts and opened the door. I turned to Heiwajima and reached out my hands for my stuff.

"Thanks", I said.

But he didn't give them to me. Instead, he passed by me, pushed the door with his elbow and stepped in my flat.

"Hey! What are you…?"

But he didn't attack me or anything, just put the goods on the counter in the kitchen next to the front door.

"Sorry for the inconvenience", he said, as he stood in the middle of my living room. "It's all Izaya's fault."

He looked down at his shoes and started murmuring something that sounded like 'I'm gonna kill him, kill, kill, kill, kill that bastard'.

"Yeah, uh, no problem", I mumbled.

The fear came back. A violent, dangerous man chanting about killing someone in the middle of your carpet is not something that makes you feel safe. Even if you live in Ikebukuro.

Heiwajima glanced at me as if he just had noticed that I was still standing on my own porch.

"You're still scared", he stated.

"No!" I replied quickly. I wanted him to get away as soon as possible and not to see him ever again.

"Don't lie to me!" he spat at me.

"I'm not lying!" I retorted.

He took a large step with his long legs and stepped in front of me, cornering me, so that I couldn't run away. I leant against the door and looked at him horrified. He pushed his palms against the wood on the two sides of my head and looked me in the eyes. Even though he was handsome, his angry expression made me want to cry on my mother's shoulders.

"You know what pisses me off the most?" he barked. "When people are not saying the truth!"

"Okay! I'm s-still s-scared of you! A-are you happy?!"

The last question came out as a faint scream. I was nearly bursting out in tears.

He released a deep sigh and took his hands off the door. He took a step back and shook his head.

"I would never hurt a woman", he said. His voice was even deeper than usually. "And I'm not a brute who just beats up people because he feels like that. I really hate violence, you know."

I nodded rapidly, wanting him to beat it already.

"You're nodding because you want me to go away."

I didn't realize I was still nodding until he raised his eyebrows. Then, I started shaking my head.

"Stop it, dammit!" he rebuked.

I stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry", I whispered.

"This ain't going anywhere."

He stepped out of the flat and took the stairs to the street. He seemed broke. And in that moment I couldn't see the fearful, tall man who he was said to be and whom I always thought he had been. He looked like a misunderstood teenage boy who was hurt by the whole world with his curve back and hands in his pockets.

"No, wait!" I shouted, but he just took one step after the other.

I moved. I rushed after him. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I had gone mad, I was one hundred and one per cent sure of that.

I grabbed his wrist and held it tightly. He stopped and turned around. He seemed like he couldn't believe his own eyes as he looked at my small fingers over his big hand.

"Would you like some strawberry-yogurt cereal?" I asked, blushing deeply. That was the first thing that came to my mind and the lamest that I could have ever thought of. "That's the best thing in the world."

He hesitated for a moment, but then I saw the corner of his lips curling up a bit, though after that, he made a straight face again. I went back to the house and he followed me. I turned on the lights and took two bowls out of the cupboard. While I poured some cereals in both of them, he closed the door. He was much more cautious now. When he was so aggressive, I felt like being the hunted deer, but now he seemed to be the one who's more troubled.

I put the bowls on the table, opposite to one another. I took the milk off the fridge and sat down.

"Shizuo." He winced as I called him by his first name, but didn't say anything. "Come on."

He stepped to the table and sat down. I poured some milk on my cereals and gave the bottle to him. He poured much more milk in his bowl than anyone normally would have. I figured he must have loved milk.

We didn't talk while we were eating. When he finished off the last sip of the milk, I put the bowls in the sink. I leant against the counter and looked at him.

"Are you still afraid of me?", he asked on a much nicer tone than before.

"No", I shook my head. "And I'm sorry. The thing is that I tend to believe what I hear and it's not easy to erase the info from my brain, even if you personally try to prove the opposite. And you really were scary with that lamp post."

I grinned at him.

"I didn't mean to scare you", he said. He stood up and - not knowing what he should do - stepped in the middle of the kitchen.

"I know now."

"It's just, that when I'm angry, I can't really control myself…"

"You don't have to explain it", I said. "The fact that you won't beat me up makes me feel safe enough."

He put his hands in his pockets, turned his head away and had his usual sullen expression on his face, but I could feel the rays of embarrassment radiating from him.

"Thanks for the cereal", he said, just to break the awkward silence.

"Told you that was the best thing in the world", I smiled. I wanted one little smile from him. Just a single one. More than lips curling up.

"Yeah, it was really good." He turned his head back to me and looked at me. He seemed to be seriously interested in the cereal topic. "What brand was it?"

"I'm not going to tell you", I smirked at him.

"Why?", he asked. His tone was a bit harsh, as if he had suspected that I didn't want to tell him because I hated him.

"Because if I don't tell you, you'll have to come back every time you want some", I replied. "And I'll be glad to share it with you."

I stepped closer to him and I had to tilt my head back to look at him. He was a lot taller than me. I reached out my hand and cautiously took off his sunglasses.

"Maybe I wouldn't have been afraid of you if you had taken these off", I said. "Your eyes can tell a lot of things about you."

His face seemed to be a bit tense.

"And?" he asked. "What do they tell you?"

"They tell me that you're a good person, Shizuo Heiwajima."

I finally got what I wanted: a happy, tiny smile from him. It wasn't a grin or a smirk, but a true smile on his finally relaxed face. He bent down and guardedly pushed his lips against mines. It was a small, soft kiss and it was over in a few seconds, even though I didn't want it to end so soon.

He took his sunglasses back from me and put them on. He went to the door and opened it.

"I'll come back for the cereal. But I'm gonna kill Izaya first."

He put a cigarette in his mouth and closed the door behind him.

* * *

I know Shizuo feels very much ooc, but this is just a headcanon of mine: that he really wants people to see that he's not a beast but a human being and he wants them to treat him as equal and not to fear him. Note that I'm more than halfway through the anime and haven't read the manga!

PS: I freaking love strawberry-yogurt cereal and this is where the whole thing came from.


End file.
